National political reporter

A proposal to introduce a co-payment for visits to doctors has led to a strong, negative voter reaction. Photo: Jim Rice

EXCLUSIVE

A forecast move to charge an extra $6 for visiting a bulk-billing doctor would deter four in 10 people from seeing the GP, a new poll shows.

The Fairfax-ReachTEL poll on a likely Abbott government proposal to introduce a co-payment for visits to doctors highlights a strong voter reaction against a policy seen by many medical professionals as undermining universal health coverage.

In another finding from the poll of 3241 people, half of those surveyed want Prime Minister Tony Abbott to make further cuts to his generous parental leave scheme.

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The strong sentiment against the generosity of the scheme comes despite Mr Abbott cutting payments from a previous cap of $75,000, for mothers earning $150,000 a year, to a new cap of $50,000.

Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey have been trying to prepare people for an unpopular budget. The Treasurer has said everyone would be asked to share the "heavy lifting" to reduce the deficit.

A key theme of the budget will be an increase in "user pays" policies. The Abbott government is expected to add not only the charges for GP visits but also increase co-payments for some medicines, while tightening the eligibility for family payments and welfare.

Deep cuts are expected across government departments, with thousands of jobs to vanish.

The budget and surrounding announcements are proving politically unpopular – the poll showed 68 per cent of voters were against a proposed increase of the retirement age, although a deficit tax attracted support from 54 per cent.

The poll on co-payments highlighted concerns by health economists and medical professionals who have argued that a $6 co-payment for GP visits would make poorer Australians less likely to visit the doctor.

Asked how they would respond to a $6 payment for GP visits, 39 per cent of those surveyed said they would be less likely to consult their GP.

If the co-payment was lifted to $15 – a figure recommended by the recent National Commission of Audit – about 63 per cent of those surveyed said they would be less likely to visit their doctor.

The $6 payment was the amount recommended by Mr Abbott’s former health adviser Terry Barnes, but government sources confirm the government will push for a slightly higher fee of about $7 when Mr Hockey delivers his first budget on Tuesday.

Mr Barnes said he was not surprised about the deterrent effect recorded in the poll.

"Part of the intention of proposing a co-payment was to get people to question for themselves the necessity of going to the GP," Mr Barnes said.

"If people need to go to the doctor, they will continue to do so, provided any price signal is modest and reasonable ... and $6 or $7 is modest and reasonable."

But the University of Adelaide's John Glover, an authority on health inequality, urged the government not to introduce the co-payments, saying it could deter very poor and very sick people from seeing their doctor.

"These people already under-utilise health services given their poorer levels of health," said Professor Glover, who has led Australia's most detailed analysis on the correlation between people's wealth and their willingness to visit a doctor.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, and the Consumer Health Forum of Australia have also united to reject the government’s co-payment policy.

The poll showed the policy would deter younger people from consulting their GP – 49 per cent of those aged between 18 and 34 said they would be less likely to make the visit if a $6 fee was levied.

The co-payment would have less of an effect on Coalition voters – only 17 per cent said it would make them less likely to see their doctor.

The poll also fans concerns by Coalition MPs, many of whom believe the Prime Minister's multibillion-dollar parental scheme clashes with Treasurer Joe Hockey's rhetoric about reducing the size of government and bringing an end to the "age of entitlement".

A fortnight ago, Mr Abbott made a concession to his colleagues, many of whom loathe his paid parental leave scheme.

The scheme that Mr Abbott took to the election would have paid $75,000 for six months’ leave to a parent earning $150,000 or more.

With Coalition senators threatening to vote against the it, the Prime Minister reluctantly lowered the threshold on payments, reducing the cap to a maximum payment of $50,000 over six months to those earning $150,000 or more.